Author: Andres-Papazian

Vaughn Reeves, Church Financier, Allegedly Duped 11,000 Investors In Ponzi
Case

CHARLES WILSON | 10/12/10
Huffington Post

INDIANAPOLIS – Karen and Fred Lamb tried to do their homework before
investing their savings in an Indiana company’s fund to help churches build
or expand. After talking with church friends and checking out Alanar Inc. on
the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website, they decided the firm’s
goals and beliefs meshed with their own.

“It was a good place where Christians would be investing in the work of
other Christians,” said Karen Lamb, a 55-year-old Terre Haute, Ind.,
housewife.

More than five years later, the Lambs still are waiting to get most of their
$53,000 investment back. Now a former pastor is going on trial for what
authorities call a multimillion-dollar scheme that preyed on thousands of
parishioners who thought they were helping build churches but were actually
buying the man and his sons planes and sports cars.

Vaughn Reeves, 66, faces 10 counts of securities fraud. Jury selection began
Tuesday in Princeton, Ind.

Authorities say Reeves, founder and owner of now-defunct Alanar, and his
three sons duped about 11,000 investors into buying bonds worth $120 million
secured by mortgages on construction projects at about 150 churches. The men
diverted money from new investments to pay off previous investors, pocketing
$6 million and buying two airplanes, sports cars and vacations, according to
court records.

Officials say the scheme operated mainly in Indiana, though church members
in other states, including Florida, Michigan, Maryland and Oklahoma, also
were victimized.

All four men have pleaded not guilty. An attorney for Vaughn Reeves did not
return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Experts say the Alanar case is a prime example of affinity fraud, in which
scammers prey on people who share a common interest, such as religious
affiliation, ethnicity or even age.
The Security and Exchange Commission doesn’t track cases of affinity fraud
separately, but Lori Schock, director of the agency’s Office of Investor
Education and Advocacy, estimates investors have lost hundreds of millions
of dollars to such schemes in the last two years.

Many victims never report the crimes because they are ashamed to tell
authorities they’ve been duped, Schock said.

A warning on the SEC website says schemes have targeted retirees, blacks,
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Armenian-Americans. Schock said recent schemes have
gone after bus drivers in California, Latin Americans in Miami and Mormons
in Utah.

Investigators say Reeves and his sons assembled teams of church members to
sell bonds to other church members, urging them to fulfill their “Christian
responsibility” by supporting church construction projects during the early
part of the decade. The teams were given training materials that instructed
them to open sales calls with a prayer and to quote scripture.

“Never sell the facts, sell warm stewardship and the Lord,” urged materials
quoted in court documents.

Five years after a federal judge froze Alanar’s assets, Bradley Skolnik, the
Indianapolis attorney who has served as Alanar’s court-appointed receiver
since 2005, has repaid about $35 million to investors who lost nearly four
times that. He expects another payout of about $10 million late this year or
early next.

The money, he said, comes from about 150 churches across the country that
issued the bonds. Some were able to pay off their debt, but Skolnik said
about 20 percent were in default. About eight churches face foreclosure
proceedings and likely will lose their buildings, he said. Skolnik said that
in some cases, Alanar had never determined whether the churches could afford
to issue bonds on their projects.

The Lambs, who invested about $53,000 from inheritance money and their two
sons’ trust funds, have gotten back just $6,000.

“We wanted to invest in something honest, and doing the Lord’s work – and
that just sucked us right in,” said Karen Lamb, whose 57-year-old husband
works as a millwright.

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, whose office led an effort to
toughen criminal penalties for affinity fraud last year, said people need to
verify that they are investing in legitimate enterprises before handing over
cash.

“The point isn’t to make everyone distrust their friends and loved ones or
be afraid of their own shadow, but to reinforce the fundamentals of sound
investing,” he said.

The SEC’s Schock said such due diligence can “protect these people from a
lifetime of hardship.”

“Some of these people are too old to regain this money they’ve lost,” she
said.

From: A. Papazian

HOW EFFECTIVE WILL THE OSCE MINSK GROUP ASSESSMENT MISSION PROVE?
Karine Ter-Sahakyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
October 12, 2010

The main task of the mission is to explain the OSCE, UN and all the
parties interested in regulation of the Karabakh conflict the actual
situation in the liberated territories.

The OSCE Minsk Group assessment mission came to an end: the mediators
did what they had promised; the parties, or rather, the Azerbaijani
side resisted the temptation of making yet another provocation,
knowing full well that on the site the co-chairs would immediately
find out who was really guilty. Indeed, it’s one thing to accuse the
Armenians of “violating the ceasefire regime”, and quite another to
answer for the death of a common shepherd.

As always, before the Co-Chairs’ visit Baku “surprised” the whole
world. But if previously her actions were limited to just playing on
nerves, last time the Aliyev clan clearly went too far. It was only
the U.S. that was indifferent to the murder of Manvel Saribekian,
remaining true to her unending pragmatism, which has been recently
turning against America itself, no matter how hard they try to make us
believe the contrary. The OSCE is usually reserved in her assessment
of events, but this time it could not bear such barbarism. At a press
briefing in Stepanakert, Russian co-chairman Igor Popov said he “was
shocked to hear about Armenian shepherd Manvel Saribekian killed in
the Azeri captivity”. He expressed his condolences to Saribekian’s
relatives and noted that this fact should be carefully examined, with
participation of international organizations, the ICRC in particular.

In fact, nothing has changed in the consciousness of Azerbaijani
Turkic nomads since the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan.

The same barbarism, the same attitude towards the enemy and, as a
consequence, the ideology of hatred that is already bearing fruit.

Azerbaijan has brought up a generation for whom the word “Armenian”
causes nothing but primitive instincts of destruction. And under these
circumstances the OSCE field assessment mission means nothing but
making semblance of activity. However, to blame the co-chairs would be
wrong. “I want you to understand that we are mediators, and, as such,
we work independently. And since we are mediators, we are not trying
to do anything in favor of one party or another. What we are seeking
is achievement of peace,” said Bernard Fassier, mediator of France.

But even if this is true, nothing depends on the views of the OSCE
Minsk Group. Baku killed the captives, organized provocations at the
border, and will continue doing so. And even Turkey cannot stop her,
because of civilizational identity.

In any case, it would be wrong to speak of the failure of the
assessment mission. After all, the Armenian side gained some
advantages from it: the mediators themselves saw what was happening
in the liberated territories. And if they really dare to inspect the
Nagorno-Karabakh territories occupied by Azerbaijan, one can say that
the mission is complete. Although it is inevitable that Baku should
be raising obstacles to it.

The main task of the mission is to explain the OSCE, UN and all the
parties interested in regulation of the Karabakh conflict the actual
situation in the liberated territories, namely that there are no camps
of militants, transit of narcotics and sales of illegal arms there.

And the question is whether the mediators will be able to answer
these questions honestly, or in order to please various interests
of the parties they will, as always, limit themselves to vague and
incomprehensible statements. Armenia has nothing to fear about, but it
would be too difficult for Azerbaijan to justify herself for the lies
and nonsense. However… it doesn’t seem to be the first time for Baku.

From: A. Papazian

GODFATHER VS. VOR
By Brian Palmer

SLATE

Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010

Who would win in a fight?

An Armenian-American gang stole more than $35 million from Medicare,
according to the Manhattan U.S. attorney. The government unsealed
indictments against 44 people on Wednesday, including the first
racketeering charges ever filed against a “vor,” the Eurasian gangster
equivalent of a godfather. It seems as if the power of Russian,
Armenian, and other Eurasian mobsters is rising as the power of
Italian Mafia declines. In a gangland battle between the vory and
the godfathers, who would win?

The godfathers. Most Italian crime families are hierarchical
organizations.

As the unquestioned leader, a godfather can order his foot
soldiers into battle. Eurasian organized crime is a lot less
… organized. Their “gangs” are loosely affiliated networks of
criminals who band together opportunistically-more like independent
contractors than employees. While Russian, Armenian, and Georgian
gangsters are certainly not above violence, they wouldn’t enter into
direct conflict with even the enfeebled Mafiosi of today. They don’t
have very many loyal gunmen, and turf battles aren’t their style,
anyway.

The original vory v zakone, or “thieves in law,” emerged from
Soviet jails in the middle of the last century. They arrived in
the United States in the 1970s and took over a few Russian ethnic
communities. The most notorious vor was Evsei Agron of Brighton Beach,
a classic Russian strongman who carried a cattle prod. Everyone knew
the vory were criminals. Many sported intimidating tattoos and talked
about how the U.S. government couldn’t scare anyone who had survived
the savage cruelty of the Gulag.

Despite their bravado, the vory weren’t strong enough to tangle
with La Cosa Nostra. They avoided the Mafia’s neighborhoods and their
traditional portfolio-mainly extorting small and medium-size businesses
for protection money. Many Russian kingpins moved into unexploited
criminal niches like financial fraud. While these schemes occasionally
necessitated bumping someone off, they didn’t lend themselves to
towering hierarchical organizations and legions of loyal enforcers.

Today’s Eurasian mob bosses have a wide variety of business interests,
some of them totally legit. Many belong to country clubs and wear
Armani suits.

They so little resemble the old-school vory that prosecutors and
journalists are the only ones who still refer to them that way.

When Eurasian mobsters see a business opportunity, like a chance
to defraud Medicare, they tap into their network to see who’s
available. Members include everyone from petty criminals to former
KGB agents and Ph.D.s in economics. The mobsters prefer to send an
operative with no criminal record to the United States to execute the
scam. He establishes a post office box and collects checks until he
thinks someone’s getting wise. Then he disappears back into Russia,
Armenia, or wherever else he can be sheltered.

Having turned a tidy profit, the agent may never speak to the scheme’s
mastermind again. While the Teflon dons of the Mafia excelled at
beating charges in court, Eurasian mobsters are rarely identified in
the first place.

Just because Eurasian gangsters don’t command loyal armies doesn’t
mean they’re not as dangerous as the Mafia. In many ways, they’re
more so. The Mafia’s scams required them to be firmly rooted in
their communities. They leaned on local businessmen and kept crooked
politicians in their pockets.

Those relationships held them in check. If a godfather put a hit on a
pillar of the community, the citizens might call for his arrest. The
local alderman, who also had the voters to worry about, might not be
able to protect him.

Transient, transnational Eurasian gangs who answer to no one have
crossed lines the Mafia never would. They are known to have sold heavy
arms to Islamic terrorists, for example. While he later recanted his
statement, captured al-Qaida member Ibn al-Shaykh al Libi even claimed
that Russian criminals provided the group with nuclear material.

Brian Palmer is a freelance writer living in New York City. He can
be reached at [email protected].

From: A. Papazian

AEF TO HONOR RICHARD HOVANNISIAN FOR HALF CENTURY AT UCLA

Wednesday October 13, 2010

Prof. Richard Hovannisian.

The Armenian Educational Foundation’s anniversary celebration will
mark another momentous milestone — the fiftieth year of Richard
Hovannisian’s teaching of Armenian History at UCLA.

Professor Hovannisian will be honored at AEF’s 60th Anniversary Banquet
to be held on Saturday, November 6 at the new Ritz Carlton/JW Marriot
at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.

Al Cabraloff, Chair of AEF’s 60th Anniversary Gala Organizing
Committee, expressed the group’s jubilation by noting: “Professor
Hovannisian is the defining figure in the area of Armenian education,
both with his 50-year tenure as the Dean of Armenian Studies worldwide
and with his continuing commitment to our people and nation. It is a
privilege for us to be able to honor such an incredible and amazing
person.”

Hovannisian began by teaching UCLA Extension courses in history in
Fresno in 1960 and then transferred to the Los Angeles campus in 1962,
where he served as a lecturer while also writing a Ph.D. dissertation
titled Armenia on the Road to Independence. He taught courses in
Armenian history and culture as a lecturer until 1969 when he was
given a tenured position as Associate Professor of Armenian and Near
Eastern History and was soon advanced to full professor in 1972.

Starting in 1969 he added graduate level courses to the curriculum and
developed programs for the M.A. and Ph.D. degree in Armenian history.

At UCLA, Hovannisian served as Associate Director of the Von Grunebaum
Center for Near Eastern Studies for many years, represented the State
of California on the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education,
served as a consultant to California State Board of Education and to
“Facing History and Ourselves” organization that helps classrooms
and communities worldwide link the past to moral choices today. He
is the author or editor of more than 25 books, including the magnus
opum four volume archival study, The Republic of Armenia (1971-1996).

In order to guarantee the permanence of the position in Armenian
History at UCLA, Hovannisian encouraged the AEF to sponsor an endowed
chair through a contract with the university which would commit it
to maintain the position in Armenian History after Hovannisian’s
retirement. In a very short time, thanks to the leadership of Dro
Amirian and assistance of attorney Walter Karabian, the AEF raised
$500,000 to endow the AEF Chair in Modern Armenian History in 1986
and Richard Hovannisian was selected as the first Chair Holder in 1987.

The ceremonies marking the Chair’s inauguration were attended by many
dignitaries including His Holiness Karekin II of the Great House of
Cilicia, Governor George Deukmejian, and university officials.

“The man-Richard Hovannisian-and the institution-the Armenian
Educational Foundation-are mirror images of each other, each dedicated
wholeheartedly to the advancement of Armenian education both in
the Diaspora and in the Homeland. The 60th Anniversary Gala will be
our community’s way of showing its great pride and appreciation for
the marvelous work of that very special man and of our very worthy
organization,” added AEF President Vahik Petrossian.

Hovannisian is regarded as a popular though demanding teacher, with
large undergraduate classes made up mostly of non-Armenian students.

With the assistance of the AEF, the nearly 900 Armenian Genocide oral
history interviews conducted by Hovannisian and his students have
been transcribed from their original Armenian as well as translated
into English.

Through his efforts, Armenian history has been brought to both academic
and general public through a series of semi-annual conferences on
historic Armenian cities and provinces, having held twenty such
conferences since 1997 and interspersing these with conferences on
the Armenian Genocide and other issues of importance to Armenian
Studies and the Armenian community.

Professor Hovannisian is the recipient of the Medal of Mesrop Mashtots
from His Holiness Karekin II of the Great House of Cilicia in 1982,
Medal of Saints Sahak and Mesrop from Catholicos of All Armenians
Garegin II in 2001, and Knight of Cilicia from His Holiness Aram I in
2001. In 1990, Richard Hovannisian was elected to the Armenian Academy
of Sciences, becoming the first social scientist living abroad to be
so honored. He has received honorary doctorates from Yerevan State
University (1994) and Artsakh State University (1997). In 1998, on the
occasion of the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the First
Republic, Professor Hovannisian was presented the Movses Khorenatsi
medal and award by the President of the Republic of Armenia. In 2002,
the President of Artsakh on behalf of the people of Nagorno-Karabagh
personally presented to Professor Hovannisian the Republic’s Medal
of St. Mesrop Mashtots.Hovannisian has now persuaded the UCLA to
authorize a search for his successor, something that would not have
occurred without the AEF Chair having been established through the
foresight of Hovannisian and the enthusiastic support of the AEF.

The AEF 60th Anniversary Banquet will be held on Saturday, November
6th at the new Ritz Carlton/JW Marriot at LA Live in downtown Los
Angeles. For more information, sponsorship opportunities or tickets,
please contact Diane Cabraloff at (310) 729-1552 or Melody Petrossian
at (818) 434-1167.

From: A. Papazian

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY SHOULD REMOVE LIES FROM ITS WEBSITE AND ISSUE APOLOGY
by Harut Sassounian

asbarez
Thursday, October 14th, 2010

Turkish officials have been misrepresenting the facts of the Armenian
Genocide for years. Even though this is saddening and even sickening,
it is not surprising. Wrongdoers usually cover up their guilt and
proclaim their innocence.

What is truly surprising is that the descendants of victims of the
Armenian Genocide, having been accustomed to such Turkish distortions,
no longer see the need to put up a vigorous fight against denialist
“historians,” politicians, diplomats, and reporters.

Why is it that descendants of the Jewish Holocaust go to great lengths
to counter denialist historians, neo-Nazis, and other revisionists,
while Armenians seem to be oblivious to those who distort their own
tragedy? Is it because they are simply tired of hearing the same old
Turkish lies year after year or do they feel powerless to put an end
to these distortions?

Earlier this year, the House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a
resolution on the Armenian Genocide by a slim 23-22 majority.

Regardless of what excuses the 22 members came up with for voting
against this resolution, the fact is that when the time came to stand
up and acknowledge the truth, they did not have the moral fortitude
to be counted among the righteous! Instead they chose to side with
the liars, deniers, and mass murderers!

And what has been the Armenian reaction to the despicable behavior
of these 22 members of Congress? No outrage was expressed by Armenians!

Not a single Armenian official condemned these scoundrels in Congress.

Where is the organized effort by Armenian-Americans to target for
defeat the Congressmen who voted against the Armenian Genocide
resolution and are running for reelection on November 2nd?

Imagine what would have happened if a single member of Congress had
voted against a resolution on the Holocaust! Would Israel’s leaders and
Jewish-Americans have remained silent? They would have rightly done
everything in their power to ensure that such a member of Congress
is not reelected!

The question is not whether the Armenian-American community is as
influential or powerful as the Jewish-American community. Regardless
of its actual political prowess, the Armenian community must mount
a vigorous campaign to defeat its political opponents. Once word
spreads in Congress that anyone who votes against the Armenian
Genocide would be targeted for defeat, those immoral and spineless
members of Congress would quickly conclude that denying the Genocide
for a fistful of Turkish Liras is not in their own best interest!

Here is another blatant example of genocide denial that has gone
unnoticed and unchallenged by Armenians and the international
community. The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s website includes countless
distorted statements on the Armenian Genocide. The website provides
deceptive responses to innocently-worded questions, such as: “What
happened in 1915? What is the total number of the Armenian deportees?

Did all the Armenian deportees die? Is it a crime to describe the
events of 1915 as ‘genocide’ in Turkey and are the ones whom (sic)
argue this exposed to legal investigation?”

On its website, the Turkish Foreign Ministry goes to absurd lengths
in a vain attempt to make Turkey look good by claiming that “Turkey
is the only country where the events of 1915 can be discussed in a
free manner!”

The website also makes the false claim that “there is no one in Turkey
now who has been tried or prosecuted due to the reason that he/she
described the events of 1915 as ‘genocide.'” The Turkish Foreign
Ministry conveniently forgets that Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was
tried and found guilty for using the word “genocide” in an interview.

He met a worse fate than serving a jail term. He was shot and killed!

Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk was also charged under the infamous
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (“Insulting Turkishness”)
for stating that one million Armenians were killed! After intense
international pressure, however, the charges against Pamuk were
dropped, and subsequently reinstated! Many other Turkish journalists
and writers have been taken to court for writing about the Armenian
Genocide.

There should be a concerted effort by Armenian officials, Diaspora
Armenians, and the international community, demanding that the Turkish
government immediately remove those insulting lies from the Foreign
Ministry’s website and issue an apology to Armenians.

Until then, no Armenian official should have any contact or meetings
with Turkish leaders. Just imagine if the German Foreign Ministry’s
website stated that the Holocaust never happened! Would Israel’s
leaders have carried on business as usual with Germany?

From: A. Papazian

THE SELLING OF THE WOODROW WILSON CENTER
BY DAVID BOYADJIAN

Asbarez
Thursday, October 14th, 2010

“Woodrow Wilson is looking down in horror at what the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars (WWC) is doing in his name.”

That’s as true today as when I wrote it back in May (see “The Woodrow
Wilson Center Desecrates its Namesake’s Legacy and Violates its
Congressional Mandate”).

Since then, the DC-based WWC (WilsonCenter.org) has been condemned
by journalists, a Wilson family descendant, a prominent Congressman,
and other Americans for:

Violating its Congressional mandate by ignoring vital aspects of
President Wilson’s record. Accepting large contributions from unsavory
corporations. Giving an award to the undeserving Ahmet Davutoglu,
Turkey’s Foreign Minister. The WWC is a think tank-like institution
created by The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968. Congress stipulated
that the WWC must commemorate Wilson’s “ideals and concerns” and
memorialize “his accomplishments.” One-third of its funding comes
from taxpayers. Its president since 1999 is former Indiana Congressman
Lee H. Hamilton.

The WWC currently has about 30 programs organized around topics or
regions, such as History and Public Policy, Latin America, the Middle
East, Science and Technology, Urban Studies, and the Cold War. Besides
its staff of 150, the Center also invites experts, scholars, lobbyists,
“corporate leaders,” “leading thinkers,” and dignitaries to discuss,
research, and publish on public affairs, including “overlooked issues.”

The WWC boasts that it has “a particular strength in international
affairs, a reflection of President Wilson’s strong advocacy of
international understanding.”

In reality, Woodrow Wilson’s “ideals and concerns,” “accomplishments,”
and “advocacy of international understanding” are of little concern
to the WWC. Instead, its agenda is driven mainly by money and politics.

This article aims to go into more depth about issues that have arisen
since the initial expose:

Lee Hamilton’s (and the WWC’s) questionable corporate ties,
particularly with BAE Systems, the main sponsor of his forthcoming
gala dinner. Denunciations of the WWC and Hamilton that the initial
expose brought about. Research into Wilson’s WW I era record and
policies that the WWC has suspiciously rebuffed.

WWC’s Corporate Harem

Back in May, I was unaware that WWC President Lee Hamilton is a board
member of one of the Center’s top corporate donors, BAE Systems Inc.
That’s the American division of the largest weapons and defense firm
in the world, BAE Systems plc, based in the U.K., with annual sales
exceeding $36 billion.

Lee Hamilton’s 34 years as Congressman (D-IN) and his service on
the CIA External Advisory Board, FBI Director’s Advisory Board,
9/11 Commission, and elsewhere are cited in his biography on the
WWC website.

Nowhere, however, does the WWC mention his simultaneous service to
corporate America. Hamilton – whose WWC salary exceeds $410,000 and
who qualifies for a hefty Congressional pension – is a member of the
boards of not only BAE Systems Inc. (since 2004), but also Carbon
Motors (since 2008), and the Albright Stonebridge Group (since 2006).

The latter is a DC-based “global strategy firm” headed by former
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (co-chaired the so-called
“Genocide Prevention Task Force” with former Defense Secretary William
Cohen, whose firm represents Turkish businesses; they both refuse
to acknowledge the Armenian genocide) and National Security Advisor
Sandy Berger (pled guilty to stealing classified documents needed by
the 9/11 Commission).

Why is the WWC silent about Hamilton’s corporate memberships? Maybe
because the average American knows that cozy corporate relationships
are incompatible with, in this case, Hamilton’s claim that his WWC is
“a neutral forum for open, serious, and informed dialogue.”

Even aside from Hamilton’s corporate connections, can the WWC serve
as a “neutral forum” for, and objectively analyze, the issues facing
the American people when companies with mercenary agendas – overseas
business interests, deals with sordid foreign governments, genocide
denial, Federal contracts, and more – are helping to foot WWC’s budget?

BAE, for example, has lobbied against an Armenian genocide resolution
in the U.S. Congress and, like several WWC donors, is a member of
the American Turkish Council. The ATC is a business group that has
shamelessly labored to defeat the Armenian resolution and that FBI
whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds has accused of serious wrongdoing.

No one believes that BAE, and the fifty or more other corporations
that have forked over thousands to join the WWC’s WilsonAlliances
program, have no influence on the WWC’s agenda and activities.

Companies who pony up cash not only receive “complimentary use” of
WCC facilities blocks from the White House. They also get – the WWC
admits this – “private customized meetings with staff and scholars
to discuss policy issues that are specific to your business interests.”

BAE & Other Genocide Deniers Throw a Party

It turns out that three days before my initial report on the WWC
was published, the 79 year-old Hamilton informed his staff that he
will be retiring as president. Not surprisingly, the WWC’s harem of
mega-corporations are throwing him a going-away party.

On October 5, “a Gala will be held to celebrate the last decade at
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and to honor
Lee H. Hamilton.”

BAE Systems has shelled out $250,000 to be the evening’s sole
“Presenting Sponsor.” Did we mention that in the last three years BAE
has also donated a minimum of $100,000 to the WWC’s parent, the famed
Smithsonian Institution? The Smithsonian (the site of the WWC Gala)
has even more unsavory corporate donors and relationships than the
WWC. But we’ll save that for another time.

What does $250,000 buy BAE? President Linda Hudson (she’s also
Executive Director of the parent BAE’s board) gets to be the event’s
“Presenting Chair.”

$250,000 surely also buys a lot of gratitude from attending dignitaries
and WWC’s salaried staff, bureaucrats, and alleged scholars.

BAE is allowed to put a “branded give-away” in the evening’s “guest
goodie bag.” The guests may include President Obama and the First
Lady, the event’s “Honorary Chairs.” Obama and Hamilton are good
friends. Hamilton even held a private dinner at the WWC with the
president-elect and their staffs several days before the inauguration.

It may be unwise for the President to chair an event in which BAE is
the main sponsor.

Earlier this year, a U.S. District Court judge slapped BAE with a
$400 million criminal fine for its “deception, duplicity and knowing
violations of law … on an enormous scale.”

Around the same time, BAE agreed to pay a fine of 30 million BP
(about $50 million) to the U.K.

What had the genocide-denying BAE done wrong? Among other things,
BAE had bribed Saudi officials, reportedly using slush funds, to
buy jet fighters. The BBC says that the bribes were in the hundreds
of millions of dollars. There were numerous other allegations of
dishonest or unlawful practices by BAE in deals with Romania, South
Africa, and Tanzania.

To avoid scrutiny, BAE had made illicit payments through intermediaries
and front companies.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that BAE had “conspired to
defraud the U.S. by impairing and impeding its lawful functions,
[making] false statements … [and violating] the Arms Export
Control Act.”

The DOJ also charged BAE with making “false applications for export
licenses” for sensitive U.S. technology in Gripen fighter jets that
the company leased to the Czech Republic and Hungary.

We should note that the DOJ says that the American division of BAE
was not involved in the criminal conduct to which BAE pled guilty.

One suspects, however, that the decision not to prosecute the BAE’s
U.S. division may have been partly a political one. It is telling that
Britain’s own investigation into BAE had been “unlawfully” halted for
political reasons, until the British High Court of Justice ruled that
the investigation must continue.

We also know that two years ago the DOJ issued “subpoenas in the U.S.
to employees of BAE Systems plc and [its American division] BAE
Systems Inc.”

Using U.S. banking records, Chilean authorities charged that BAE
had secretly funneled more than $1 million to ex-dictator Augusto
Pinochet through offshore accounts. The payments, apparently to bribe
Pinochet into concluding arms deals with BAE, continued up through
2004, two years before Pinochet’s death.

More Gala Donors

Boeing and Chevron have also paid $50,000 each to be “National
Sponsors” of the WWC Gala. Both companies have lobbied, obviously at
Turkey’s urging, against the Armenian genocide resolution. Executives
of both companies have also received WWC’s “Corporate Citizenship
Award.” Coincidentally, Chevron recently acquired a lease to explore
for oil in Turkish waters. It obviously pays to play ball with Turkey.

WWC Trustee Ignacio Sanchez, among others, gave $15,000 to be a Gala
“Benefactor.” Sanchez just happens to work for DLA Piper, a lobbying
firm that is registered with the U.S. government as a foreign agent
for Turkey. He “represents national and international clients on a
broad range of issues … before Congress.” DLA Piper’s contract
states specifically that “services shall include … preventing
the introduction, debate and passage of legislation and other U.S.
government action that harms Turkey’s interests and image.”

The earlier expose noted that the WWC has accepted cash contributions
from several other corporations that have individually, or as part
of an organization, opposed the Armenian resolution. For example,
Alcoa, Bechtel, Bombardier, Coca Cola, Exxon-Mobil, Honeywell, and
Lockheed-Martin are members of the American Turkish Council or the
Aerospace Industries Association, both of which have lobbied against
the genocide resolution.

Given WWC’s corporate love affair with Turkey, it’s no wonder that
in June the WWC traveled to Istanbul to give awards to Turkish
Foreign Minister Davutoglu (detailed in the first expose) and a
multi-billionaire Turkish businessman. The latter’s Dogus Holding
conglomerate is, not surprisingly, a member of WWC’s WilsonAlliances.

The award to Davutoglu was especially undeserved because it is
well-known that he and Turkey have gratuitously complicated U.S.,
European, and U.N. policy in the region.

The WWC’s explanation for the two Turkish awards? “In 2009, the Center
identified Istanbul as an international city where a fundraising
event of this kind would be viable.” Translation: ‘Show me the money.’

Stinging Rebukes

Wilson’s famous Fourteen Points – for which he received the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1920 – sought “autonomous development” for all peoples
under the Ottoman Turkish yoke, especially the Armenians, for whom
he had a particular empathy.

After WWI, the Paris Peace Conference tapped Wilson to arbitrate the
borders of Armenia on former Ottoman territory. Wilson’s decision
became part of the Treaty of Sevres (1920). Despite its contemporary
relevance to Turkey and Armenian-Turkish relations, this body of
knowledge has been all but ignored – no doubt for political and
monetary reasons – by the WWC and its Wilson Quarterly journal. By
virtually ignoring these vital aspects of Wilson’s “ideals, concerns,
and accomplishments,” the WWC has violated The Woodrow Wilson
Memorial Act.

That background suffices to better appreciate some of these recent
condemnations of the WWC and Lee Hamilton:

In two articles (“Pawn for the Wrong President,” and “Presidential
Legacy for Sale”), Wilson family descendant and human rights advocate
Donald Wilson Bush blasted the WWC. The Center, said Bush, was
“specifically chartered to preserve [Wilson’s legacy] through their
selection of programs, projects, scholars, and award recipients.” That
legacy included Wilson’s “Arbitral Award on the Turkish – Armenian
Boundary.”

“What could possibly cause Lee Hamilton and his staff to kow-tow
to White House pressure in this instance of Turkish diplomatic
appeasement even at the cost of dishonoring Woodrow Wilson’s personal
wishes and thereby violating the WCC’s very own mission and purpose?”
Hamilton has “brought shame to the halls of one of our nation’s most
cherished and taxpayer supported institutions by violating its charter
in favor of personal and self-serving ambitions” and “should consider
leaving his post.”

President Wilson would have objected to “money raising schemes
specifically designed to bring home the spoils of economic gain at
the expense of higher ideals.”

“By placing the imprimatur of Woodrow Wilson’s legacy upon Mr.
Davotoglu and his successful business friend in this calloused and
cavalier manner,” wrote Bush, “the WWC has alienated thousands of
smaller voices in favor of one large Turkish prize. In so doing,
the WWC has sacrificed its legitimacy as a ‘neutral forum for open,
serious, and informed dialogue.'”

In June, the chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Middle
East and South Asia, Gary Ackerman (D-NY), wrote to Lee Hamilton.
Davutoglu’s foreign policy “is rife with illegality, irresponsibility,
and hypocrisy.” Ackerman cited Turkey’s denial of the Armenian
genocide , military occupation of Cyprus, and closure of the border
with Armenia. Honoring Davutoglu is “absolutely inconsistent with the
mission of the WWC and the ideals that animated President Wilson’s
administration and foreign policy.” The American Hellenic Institute
(AHI) asked the Wilson Center to not give the Turkish Foreign Minister
an award. Davutoglu, said AHI, is not deserving of the honor “based
upon the spirit of the award and the ideals President Woodrow Wilson
championed.” Turkey, it noted, has not accepted “responsibility
for the genocide of Armenians, Greek and Assyrian Christians in the
20th century.” The Armenian National Committee of America said that
the award to Davutoglu “makes a mockery of President Wilson’s belief
in free and open inquiry.” Davutoglu “has devoted his own personal
energies and the resources of his Ministry to silencing discourse
within Turkey and the United States on the Armenian Genocide,
one of the most prominent human rights issues that Woodrow Wilson
himself actively pursued,” and “President Wilson was a tireless
champion of Armenian rights and security.” The award to Davutoglu
“makes a mockery of the Wilson Center and its founding commitment
to fostering scholarship commemorating ‘the ideals and concerns of
Woodrow Wilson.'” Journalist Claudia Rosett (“Turkey’s Hollow Prize:
Washington’s Woodrow Wilson Center dishonors its own public service
award”) called the WWC “a global joke.” With its award to Davutoglu,
the Wilson Center “is willing to treat even the most flagrantly
anti-American views (and deeds) as irrelevant, while collecting money
around the globe. Why should Congress keep fueling this morally blank,
misleading and venal exercise with millions of American tax dollars?”
Woodrow Wilson not Welcome

I have recently learned of another instance of the Center’s willful
blindness to President Wilson’s accomplishements and ideals.

Two years ago, the former Armenian Ambassador to Canada, Ara Papian,
applied for one of WWC’s Fellowships. An expert in history and law,
Papian is fluent in English, Armenian, Russian, and Persian. He
also served in Romania and Iran, and graduated from the NATO Defense
College.

Papian proposed to do “thorough and comprehensive research” into
America and President Wilson’s involvement with Turkey and Armenia,
particularly official American reports of that era and Wilson’s
Arbitral Award to Armenia in 1920. Papian would explore “key materials
located in U.S. national and academic collections in the greater
Washington, DC” area.

His four-page application emphasized the relevance of the project
to present-day “American involvement in the Middle East.” A better
understanding of America’s historical involvement in Turkey and in
other “players can be vital for American security, political and
economic interests.”

The WWC turned Ambassador Papian down flat without explanation.

Clearly the rejection wasn’t due to any flaws in Papian’s proposal,
which aligned perfectly with the aims of an American institution
supposedly dedicated to Wilson’s ideals and record.

Then again, how would it look for the WWC, financed by companies
committed to covering up the most barbaric aspects of Turkey’s history,
to accept Papian’s proposal?

There is no doubt that WWC’s corporate harem would threaten to
withhold its favors if a project involving Wilson and Armenia were
to be pursued. Of course, such threats could be issued only in those
“private customized meetings with WWC staff and scholars to discuss
policy issues that are specific to your business interests.”

What the WWC Owes America

The reforms needed at the WWC, listed in my first article, remain as
urgent as ever:

Wilson Center personnel, and those affiliated with it, particularly
scholars, must speak out publicly against pandering to corporations and
lobbying organizations. Those whose business or personal interests may
conflict with their WWC role should resign. The WWC must reject all
tainted corporate cash. The WWC should create a principled program on
genocide. Recognized genocide scholars should be invited to speak at
the Wilson Center and publish in the Wilson Quarterly. The WWC must
establish a meaningful, ongoing dialogue with those persons and their
descendants who have been victimized by Turkey’s genocides. The WWC
must return to its Congressional mandate by truly rededicating itself
to Wilson’s “ideals, concerns, and accomplishments” and by advocating
against genocide and for the human rights and dignity of all people.
It is the job of the Congress, the Attorney General, the President,
and the American people to ensure that these reforms materialize.

From: A. Papazian

KARABAKH MEDIATORS COMPLETE ASSESSMENT MISSION IN LIBERATED TERRITORIES

Asbarez
Thursday, October 14th, 2010
VIENNA

International mediators from the US, France and Russia working
to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict completed an assessment
mission to the liberated Armenian territories surrounding the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on Thursday, a statement by the OSCE Minsk
Group said Thursday.

The field assessment mission, organized by the OSCE Minsk Group,
was conducted by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors
Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States, and
Igor Popov of the Russian Federation. It also included “technical
experts” from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

“The Mission provided an important opportunity for the Co-Chairs to
meet with numerous people on the ground and familiarize themselves
with the overall current situation in the territories, in all aspects,
including humanitarian needs,” the statement said.

“The unprecedented participation of technical experts from the UNHCR
allowed the Mission team to understand better the rights, within
the framework of international humanitarian law, of all refugees and
displaced persons in the region and the conditions now facing those
living in these territories,” it added.

The week-long working trip concluded began on October 7 and concluded
Thursday. The co-chairs announced their intention to “observe the
humanitarian situation” in these territories in early September.

They then met separately on October 6 with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenian President Serge Sarkisian to discuss the details
of the mission. They also met on October 7 with the authorities of
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in Stepanakert.

In talks with Sarkisian, the troika promised to try to visit a
medieval Armenian cemetery in the Azeri controlled Armenian territory
of Nakhichevan destroyed by Azerbaijani authorities. They also pledged
pay a similar visit to a small part of Karabakh’s territory controlled
by Azerbaijan “in the next stage of the monitoring.”

According to Thursday’s statement, the Co-Chairs will work with the
UNHCR experts to “compile the information gathered during their
mission” and prepare an internal OSCE report to be “shared with
all sides.”

From: A. Papazian

FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER URGES TURKEY TO ADVANCE EU ACCESSION THROUGH FURTHER REFORMS
BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan

Global Insight
October 13, 2010

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner during bilateral talks
with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on 12 October urged
the Turkish government to continue with its reforms to facilitate
the country’s protracted accession talks with the European Union
(EU). The French diplomat said that the ball was in Turkey’s court,
and suggested that the Turkish government open three more chapters
for negotiations. According to the French foreign minister, Turkey is
ready to launch talks on issues of competition by the end of 2010,
as well as on social policy and employment in 2011. Kouchner added
that given Turkey’s progress on reforms of the public-procurement
sector, opening and successfully negotiating the relevant chapter
should not pose a problem in the coming months. Conversely, Davutoglu
asked Kouchner for the EU to launch a visa-liberalisation programme
similar to that currently implemented by the EU in the Balkans. The two
parties agreed to continue their efforts in combating the activities
of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a militant organisation that has
been locked in an armed struggle with the Turkish government over
Kurdish autonomy in south-eastern Turkey since 1984.

Significance:Turkey launched its accession talks with the 27-member
European bloc in October 2005, but since then there has not been much
progress. In 2008, the EU launched talks on intellectual property
and company law, 2 out of the 35 chapters needed to be negotiated
to gain access to the bloc. Although some of the areas just need
a matter of time before they are fully reformed, Turkey still has
to address political issues such as opening its port to Cyprus, an
EU member that is not recognised by Turkey. This issues stems from
Turkey’s support for the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus. Furthermore, Turkey has to yet overhaul its constitution or
open its borders with its eastern neighbour Armenia. Conversely,
the country has blamed the EU for delaying the accession of the
73-million-strong, mainly Muslim country into the European bloc
instead offering a privileged partnership, an idea supported by
France and Germany but rejected by Turkey. However, Kouchner was
clear in his message to the Turkish government: to join the bloc,
Turkey has to meet all the necessary preconditions.

From: A. Papazian

AZERBAIJAN TO CONTINUE MILITARY REARMAMENT, SPARKING CONCERNS OF POSSIBLE WAR WITH ARMENIA
BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan

Global Insight
October 13, 2010

On 13 October, Azeri Finance Minister Samir Sharifov stated yesterday
that his government is planning to increase its defence budget by
50% to US$3.2 billion compared to US$2 billion in 2010. Meanwhile,
defence spending will account for 19.7% of the total budget compared
to 10.7% in 2010. Some US$1.4 billion will be used to modernise the
Azerbaijani army’s arsenal. The finance minister also indicated that
there are plans to invest in the development of the country’s military
industry, but he did not reveal any other details.

Significance:Azerbaijan continues its military build-up, as President
Ilham Aliyev has been boosting the defence budget in recent years.

Under the 2011 defence budget, the Azerbaijani military will receive
100% more financial resources than in the 2008 budget. In July
2010 the Russian media reported that Russia’s state arms exporter,
Rosoboronexport, signed a US$300-million agreement in 2009 with the
Azerbaijani Defence Ministry on the supply of two S-300PMU-2 Favorit
(SA-20b Gargoyle b) battalions. It is the most expensive single
purchase of weapons by a former Soviet country, apart from Russia.

Azerbaijan’s rearmament is also accompanied by growing threats to pull
out from internationally mediated peace talks over the deadlocked
conflict in Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian
government has taken steps to alert the international community
about the dangers of the Azerbaijani leader’s open pledges to solve
the conflict through war. Thus during his speech to the UN General
Assembly on 25 September Armenian foreign minister Eduard Nalbandyan
warned that Azerbaijan is using its oil wealth to fuel a “military
adventure” in the conflict, adding that the Azerbaijani government’s
“unabated war rhetoric, increased violations of the ceasefire regime,
and the unprecedented increase of the military budget by Azerbaijan
only exacerbate the situation”. The situation is reminiscent of the
Georgian government’s sharp increase of military spending before the
ill-fated August 2008 military campaign against South Ossetia.

From: A. Papazian

CENTRAL BANK OF ARMENIA KEEPS INTEREST RATE STABLE EVEN AS INFLATION REMAINS ABOVE TARGET IN SEPTEMBER
BYLINE: Venla Sipila

World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
October 13, 2010

The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) has opted to retain its refinancing
interest rate unchanged at 7.25% in September, Reuters reports. This
was the fifth consecutive month that a similar decision was taken,
following a tightening cycle (seeArmenia: 9 June 2010:). The decision
was taken as the latest consumer price figures from the Armenian
Statistical Service show that inflation in September reached 8.6%
year-on-year (y/y). This result marks moderation from the August rate
of 9.6% y/y, but still indicates inflation far above the CBA’s target
rate of 4% +/- 1.5 percentage points. In month-on-month (m/m) terms,
prices fell by 0.2% in September. The Bank stated that, although
external inflation pressures remained notable, domestic inflation
risks had actually started to ease. Indeed, the annual growth in
consumer prices was driven by a sharp 12.7% y/y gain in the cost
of food, while prices of non-price goods and services increased by
clearly more moderate rates of 6.1% y/y and 5.2% y/y.

Significance:The Armenian economy is currently recovering from an
extremely severe recession, and the monetary officials are seeking
to do all they can order to support economic activity. The central
bank hopes that a lower refinancing rate will in turn encourage bank
lending. In practice, this channel is still relatively weak, given
the undeveloped financial sector and the high degree of dollarisation.

While not only external, given that Armenian agricultural output
has also been very poor this year, the recent spike in food prices
indeed reflects supply side price pressures, and the impact from this
on inflation is likely to ease going forward. Meanwhile, demand-side
pressures still remain fairly modest. However, some inflation risks
are also still present from exchange-rate developments, given the
wide external deficit.

From: A. Papazian